McCarthyism is defined as "the political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence."
Even before Senator Joseph McCarthy came in to play in 1950, anti-communism was a significant part of the politics of the United States. The US feared communism because of the events of post WW1. Lenin had a communist government in Russia, and he killed 9 million people for resisting his ideals. The commencement of the Cold War increased the fear of communism. The rumors of high ranking government officials being secret communists also concerned citizens.
McCarthy charged people with the act of ‘Subversion’ because it wasn’t illegal to be a communist. Subversion is the “systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working from within”. Later he prosecuted them for selling American security secrets to communist governments.
McCarthy made a speech a Lincoln’s birthday luncheon that intensified America’s fear of communism. He had a list with 205 names of people who were communists that worked in the State Department. After the speech, Americans were eager to identify and remove communists from positions of power. As well, politicians from all parties attacked McCarthy’s claims.
After this, McCarthy started his ‘witch-hunt’ to seek out and prosecute communists. He used controversial techniques and made claims with limited evidence. Once his claims gained attention of the nation he became chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. This fueled his power of investigating people who were suspected communists. Careers and reputations were ruined by the claims McCarthy placed on people.
Many of the figures that McCarthy figured were communist were major screen writers, actors, directors, and producers from Hollywood. Members on the entertainment industry were blacklisted. “The Crucible” is a work that criticized McCarthyism. The witch trials are a metaphor of the communist witch hunt.
Despite the lack of evidence and recklessness of McCarthy, it turns out that many of his claims were accurate. Many of the people he interrogated were later recognized as Soviet agents and communists. The Venona Intercepts were released in 1995. This was the evidence that he needed.
Proof of Persecution:
Communism was growing in places like Europe and China America was concerned and overwhelmed that the threat of communism could reach American shores. Joseph McCarthy started the fire to the communist “which hunts” when he accused over 200 communists had infiltrated the U.S government and were suspected to be selling information to the Soviet Union.
People who were suspected to be communists were torn out of their jobs and they faced shame that they had betrayed their own nation.
The American population became frantic to attempt and take all suspected communists out of their positions of power, the fact that the American communist party during the time period was convicted of attempting to violently over throw the U.S. government.
No one was killed or harmed but McCarthy did use controversial techniques to get information out of suspected communists; the main point of these “witch hunts” was to destroy careers and reputations.
People were often faced with the threat of prison in an attempt to get information, even thought there was little to no solid evidence convicting them to be communists.
Case Study:
In 1947, the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating the Hollywood Motion Picture Society. They interviewed 41 people who worked in Hollywood at the time, whether they be writers, directors, actors or others. In October, J. Parnell Thomas claimed he knew of 12 actors, writers and directors who were associated with or involved in Communist activities. In the end they put twelve men on trial and they were all investigated and asked questions about their political and personal beliefs. They refused to answer, claiming that the 1st amendment protected them from having to answer any questions on the subject. But the courts did not agree and they were all charged with contempt of congress and they all served 6-12 month sentences in federal prison.
The Hollywood Ten:
Herbert Biberman Lester Cole Albert Maltz Adrian Scott Samuel Ornitz Edward Dmytryk Ring Lardner Jr. John Howard Lawson Alvah Bessie Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: Dalton Trumbo was born in Colorado in 1905, and he was sentenced to ten months in prison on October 28th, 1947. He was a very accomplished writer and published many works and won awards such as the National Book Award, and he was nominated for an Oscar. Because of his left-wing views he was unfairly put in prison. Trumbo, like most of the other Hollywood Ten, was described by friends and colleagues to be a nice and caring mine who only wanted the best for all of humanity. After he fulfilled his sentence he continued to write under assumed names and he won two academy awards. Then, in 1960, Dalton Trumbo became the first of the Blacklist writers to use his real name. He wrote the screenplay for the movie Spartacus. The film examined the spirit of revolt, which suited Trumbo’s situation at the time. After that the Blacklist was lifted, and Trumbo could continue to work without these problems until he died in 1975 of a heart attack.
Historical Relevance:
In 1950 when the ‘Witch hunts’ first began the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) had summoned 2375 men and women, which was all it took for them to lose their jobs. 400 Americans went to jail, without a fair trial. By the end of the McCarthy era in 1954 9500 civil servants had been dismissed from their jobs, and 15000 resigned; 600 teachers lost jobs and many actors and screenwriters were unable to work again.
Influence on Culture:
The Crucible was a play that had been written in 1953 by American playwright, Arthur Miller. The Crucible was written during the McCarthy era, when Americans were accused of pro-communist beliefs. The play was based on the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century, and also the communist ‘witch hunts’ of the 1950s. Miller’s friends were also being accused of being communist, later Miller was brought before the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) and was found guilty of communist beliefs. In 1957 the verdict was revised in an appeals court.
Communist Witch Hunts
Brief Overview:
McCarthyism is defined as "the political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence."
Even before Senator Joseph McCarthy came in to play in 1950, anti-communism was a significant part of the politics of the United States. The US feared communism because of the events of post WW1. Lenin had a communist government in Russia, and he killed 9 million people for resisting his ideals. The commencement of the Cold War increased the fear of communism. The rumors of high ranking government officials being secret communists also concerned citizens.
McCarthy charged people with the act of ‘Subversion’ because it wasn’t illegal to be a communist. Subversion is the “systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working from within”. Later he prosecuted them for selling American security secrets to communist governments.
McCarthy made a speech a Lincoln’s birthday luncheon that intensified America’s fear of communism. He had a list with 205 names of people who were communists that worked in the State Department. After the speech, Americans were eager to identify and remove communists from positions of power. As well, politicians from all parties attacked McCarthy’s claims.
After this, McCarthy started his ‘witch-hunt’ to seek out and prosecute communists. He used controversial techniques and made claims with limited evidence. Once his claims gained attention of the nation he became chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. This fueled his power of investigating people who were suspected communists. Careers and reputations were ruined by the claims McCarthy placed on people.
Many of the figures that McCarthy figured were communist were major screen writers, actors, directors, and producers from Hollywood. Members on the entertainment industry were blacklisted. “The Crucible” is a work that criticized McCarthyism. The witch trials are a metaphor of the communist witch hunt.
Despite the lack of evidence and recklessness of McCarthy, it turns out that many of his claims were accurate. Many of the people he interrogated were later recognized as Soviet agents and communists. The Venona Intercepts were released in 1995. This was the evidence that he needed.
Proof of Persecution:
Case Study:
In 1947, the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating the Hollywood Motion Picture Society. They interviewed 41 people who worked in Hollywood at the time, whether they be writers, directors, actors or others. In October, J. Parnell Thomas claimed he knew of 12 actors, writers and directors who were associated with or involved in Communist activities. In the end they put twelve men on trial and they were all investigated and asked questions about their political and personal beliefs. They refused to answer, claiming that the 1st amendment protected them from having to answer any questions on the subject. But the courts did not agree and they were all charged with contempt of congress and they all served 6-12 month sentences in federal prison.The Hollywood Ten:
Herbert Biberman
Lester Cole
Albert Maltz
Adrian Scott
Samuel Ornitz
Edward Dmytryk
Ring Lardner Jr.
John Howard Lawson
Alvah Bessie
Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo: Dalton Trumbo was born in Colorado in 1905, and he was sentenced to ten months in prison on October 28th, 1947. He was a very accomplished writer and published many works and won awards such as the National Book Award, and he was nominated for an Oscar. Because of his left-wing views he was unfairly put in prison. Trumbo, like most of the other Hollywood Ten, was described by friends and colleagues to be a nice and caring mine who only wanted the best for all of humanity. After he fulfilled his sentence he continued to write under assumed names and he won two academy awards. Then, in 1960, Dalton Trumbo became the first of the Blacklist writers to use his real name. He wrote the screenplay for the movie Spartacus. The film examined the spirit of revolt, which suited Trumbo’s situation at the time. After that the Blacklist was lifted, and Trumbo could continue to work without these problems until he died in 1975 of a heart attack.
Historical Relevance:
In 1950 when the ‘Witch hunts’ first began the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) had summoned 2375 men and women, which was all it took for them to lose their jobs. 400 Americans went to jail, without a fair trial. By the end of the McCarthy era in 1954 9500 civil servants had been dismissed from their jobs, and 15000 resigned; 600 teachers lost jobs and many actors and screenwriters were unable to work again.Influence on Culture:
The Crucible was a play that had been written in 1953 by American playwright, Arthur Miller. The Crucible was written during the McCarthy era, when Americans were accused of pro-communist beliefs. The play was based on the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century, and also the communist ‘witch hunts’ of the 1950s. Miller’s friends were also being accused of being communist, later Miller was brought before the HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) and was found guilty of communist beliefs. In 1957 the verdict was revised in an appeals court.Work Cited:
http://www.historystudycenter.com/search/displayMultiResultStudyunitItem.do?Multi=yes&ResultsID=133843E7551&fromPage=search&ItemNumber=1&QueryName=studyunithttp://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/mccarthyism6.htm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Subversion
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhollywood10.htm
http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/_img/news/trumbo/dalton_trumbo_letters.JPG
http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/mccarthyism.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/arthur-miller/mccarthyism/484/
http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/usa/mccarthy.htm
http://summarycentral.tripod.com/thecrucible.htm
Who Did What:
Breif Overview: Brogen SolbergProof of Persecution: Nicole Daly
Case Study: Brayden Friesen
Hitorical Relevance and Influence on Culture: Josh Felt
Editor: Brayden Friesen